An App Catalog is an app that your users run on their mobile devices to find and install your corporate and other public mobile apps. Apperian offers web and native App Catalogs for many modern mobile platforms; for a list of specific devices and operating system versions, see Supported Platforms.

The following example shows the default, Apperian-branded iOS App Catalog:

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Web App Catalog

The web App Catalog provides a web-based application for viewing and installing apps on any device. It provides a familiar user experience on each device and behaves very much like Apperian's native App Catalogs. On Apple and Windows devices, the web App Catalog resembles the native iOS App Catalog; on Android and Blackberry devices it resembles the native Android App Catalog.

The web App Catalog is available for use immediately after an organization registers with Apperian. There is nothing for you to create or download; you are able to get started with Apperian in minutes. (If you are new to Apperian, see Getting Started for a quick introduction.)

To find the URL used to access your organization's web App Catalog, go to the Applications page and click the Details link for the web App Catalog. The App Catalog Deep Link field displays the URL. For more information, see Vanity Subdomain.

Native App Catalogs

Native App Catalogs are applications built for a specific mobile platform (iOS, Android, etc). Native App Catalogs provide users with a more familiar mobile user experience, and offer some functionality that is not available with the web App Catalog. For example, iOS and Android native App Catalogs support push notifications to automatically notify users when app updates are available.

Note

Unlike the web App Catalog, native App Catalogs are not automatically created for your account. To use native App Catalogs, you must obtain the apps from Apperian. There is a separate App Catalog app for each of the supported platforms.

When you implement native App Catalogs, you can continue to use the web App Catalog to provide a solution for users who do not have supported devices. For example, users can run the web App Catalog on BlackBerry devices.

App Catalog Updates

Apperian occasionally makes improvements and other changes to the web and native App Catalogs. Most of the time these updates are delivered automatically and require no additional work for your users to have the latest experience.

However, there are some cases when the improvements require that customers manually upgrade to the latest App Catalog version and redistribute the app to your users. To do this, you must obtain a new App Catalog version from Apperian, add it to the Admin Portal, and re-sign with the same credentials. For more information, see Add an App Catalog.

Apperian will notify you whenever an update requires manually adding a new App Catalog version.

Custom Branding for App Catalogs

You can customize components of the App Catalogs to incorporate corporate branding and enhance your users' experience. For example, you can provide custom images for the App Catalog icons, launch screen, and header and footer. For more information on branding, see Branding App Catalogs.

Multiple App Catalogs on the Same Device

Users can install multiple App Catalogs on the same device as long as the catalogs have separate bundle IDs (iOS) or package IDs (Android), which is the case when a user is installing App Catalogs built for different organizations. If you are interested in deploying multiple catalogs to any of your users, see Multiple App Catalogs on the Same Device to understand the requirements.